Russian paper diaphrams for Altec horns

[powerman]

The JBL 2470 one inch throat driver had a response out to almost 10Khz and the 2482 about 4.8Khz. They work good for lower crossover points. The 2482 when used on a 2360 series horn can be run down to 350hz. The 2470 I have used down to 500 hz and have not had to worry about breaking the edging on the diaphragms

 

[derekva]

OK, I am rolling the dice and ordered a pair of the paper Altec diaphrams in 8 ohm with copper windings. Unfortunately they will not come until some time in March. Once they come I'll check back in to let folks know how they look and sound.

Did the diaphragms ever arrive? If so, how do they measure / sound?

 

[Aptone]

Did the diaphragms ever arrive? If so, how do they measure / sound?

Yes! They did and I have been meaning to provide an update, but have been busy. They are white, and have male spades that work with the compression caps on my 909 drivers. I opted for the copper windings, as opposed to aluminum.

 

[Aptone]

So, I have a bit of a screwey setup at the moment. My Altecs have the smaller 811 horn mounted inside the cabinet with Great Plains Audio 34647 diaphrams. See pic below. However, for comparison purposes I have a 511 horn sitting on top of the speaker with the Russian paper diaphram. I realize I have multiple variables happening at once, which muddies the ability to determine what is doing what, but the 511/909/Russian diaphram combo is louder and clearer than the 811/808/34647 combo. My wife agrees. The instruments sound more distinct.

Ideally I would do a head to head comparison by using each diaphram in the same horn with the same driver, so the only difference is the diaphram. I plan to do this at some point, and compare the Russian and Great Plains diaphrams to the one symbiotic diaphram I have.

 

[Dr. Beaker]

Interesting! Note the distinctly different design of the tinsel wires as compared to the photo in the original post.

 

[Aptone]

Note the distinctly different design of the tinsel wires as compared to the photo in the original post.

Yes, they took @bowtie427ss advice.

 

[Nyjblbob]

Any further comparisons with the new pframs?

 

[Travis K]

Has anyone tried these paper diaphrams from Russia? Found on ebay. Cheaper than Great Plains but more intrigued by the driver material. I am wondering how they sound.
View attachment 2056548

Aptone,

Who makes the paper driver that you referenced last year. I'm looking to source some.

THanks,

 

[Nyjblbob]

Why? when the Radians are So good. and direct from Radian 79$ each. Gonna put a pair in my 4343's And made in the USA!

 

[Aptone]

Who makes the paper driver that you referenced last year. I'm looking to source some.

I got them from ebay seller ad1audio. https://www.ebay.com/sch/ad1audio/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from= I got the model "for 802 drivers and many more models".

It took a while to get to me but they did arrive. I paid $80 each and shipping was free. It looks like the price has gone up.

I have been comparing one of ad1audio's paper diaphram to a single symbiotic I have that came with the speakers, both in the 511 horns sitting on top of the cabinets. They sound really similar, but I think the ad1audio driver may have a bit more at the high end. Here is a pic without the grill on. I am running the 511s off the existing crossovers.

 

[Dr. Beaker]

I'm intrigued enough, or maybe just a sucker, that I just placed an order. I have some rough (painted white) Altec 902s that currently have 16 ohm diaphragms and I wanted to replace those with 8 ohm. I'm aware of the Radian option and may end up there. I will compare these against a pair of 802s with GPA diaphragms (sorry for two variables).

The auto response from the seller came back with an expected delivery by July 19.

 

[Dr. Beaker]

I received my pair of the paper diaphragms after about 6-7 weeks. Mine look exactly like the pictures posted by Aptone and are 8 ohm with the copper voice coils. I installed them in a pair of Altec 802-8G drivers mounted to Altec 32C horns. These are connected to GPA N1200-8C crossovers (Altec Model 19 clones). I’ve been listening to them for a few weeks now. The drivers previously had a pair of GPA diaphragms in them.

My overall impression of them is very favorable. I think they sound excellent. Vocals come through especially rich, warm, and textured. Piano notes are crystal clear. Highs are very good without being overly bright or harsh. They have a good balance between being warm and detailed. They are slightly more efficient than the GPA diaphragms. I would be hard pressed to pick out subtle differences from the GPAs without repeated back and forth listening sessions. The paper diaphragms will stay in these drivers for a long while, they are too good to change back anytime soon.

I’m not implying that these are clear winners over the GPA option, which certainly sound excellent also. Opinions might be evenly split on which is better. It’s another interesting option out there, along with the Radians. If you are on the fence about trying them, give them a shot. They are excellent performers.

 

[Sam Cogley]

Something I'd really love to see: GPA get the rights to both reproduce the early Renkus-Heinz diaphragms, which due to Dr. Renkus' involvement were pretty much the penultimate development of the old Altec compression drivers, and to make replacement diaphragms for the Altec drivers using the R-H design. The early R-H 1" diaphragm design was similar to the Symbiotik, but refined - I don't know the technical details, but they sound great.

I see that they're still using the old photos, despite the photos above showing that they've relocated the leads. I hope they've done the same for the 2" diaphragms as well. I'm curious about these things, and if I didn't have a solid supply of good aluminum diaphragms, and if my long-term plans for my VOTTs weren't to use them for a garage/backyard system, I'd be interested.

 

[Aptone]

My overall impression of them is very favorable. I think they sound excellent. Vocals come through especially rich, warm, and textured. Piano notes are crystal clear. Highs are very good without being overly bright or harsh. They have a good balance between being warm and detailed.

Well said! I was really enjoying some live Chantal Kreviazuk singing and playing piano with a backing orchestra the other night. Sounded amazing.

 

[MissionX]

Well said! I was really enjoying some live Chantal Kreviazuk singing and playing piano with a backing orchestra the other night. Sounded amazing.

Are these the only replacement diaphragms with good performance besides GPA? They are $120 now.

 

[Nyjblbob]

As posted earlier in the thread
The Radian’s have been my choice for my Altec’s and Jbl 1” throat drivers for over 25 years. Haven’t heard the 2” throat versions
though

 

[MissionX]

I contacted Radian and was told they didn't make a diaphragm for a 288B.

 

[Nyjblbob]

Ahh too bad
I know they make them for the large format Jbls
My 288’s still have the Altec fraghms
Although slightly different

 

[elitopus]

I also wish Radian would make a 288 diaphragm. And I wish they would start making diaphragms for Emilar drivers again. They used to make phragms for the EA/EC-175

And as mentioned above, I wish someone would make diaphragms for the older Renkus drivers. SSD-1800, 1801, 3300, and 3301

 

[MissionX]

Received my paper diaphragms from Russia yesterday. These are a winner in my opinion. I was able to apply less attenuation to the horn, which I'm happy about. I paid him on January 4th and received them yesterday, January 28th. Sorry about the dark picture.